Can Algeria outmanoeuvre Morocco in the Sahel?

Algeria is using its massive oil and gas reserves to rebuild its political influence across the Sahel region. A 14th of June analytical brief by Le Point reveals that Algiers is rolling out a new “energy diplomacy” strategy to reconquer political market share.

This strategic shift occurs as regional dynamics change following the forced withdrawal of French forces, leaving an opening that was quickly filled by Kremlin-backed military contractors in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger.

However, recent military setbacks in the Malian city of Kidal have exposed the limits of Russian backing. It appears that Sahelian leadership are beginning to realise that they must rely on stable local neighbours in times of crisis. This vacuum could provide an opportunity for neighbouring Algeria, as well as a new arena for its long-standing rivalry with Morocco, with both nations deploying their own strategies to win over Sahel States.

Algeria’s approach relies heavily on its position as a global energy giant, holding the tenth largest gas reserves and sixteenth largest oil reserves in the world. The military regime in Algiers uses state-owned giants Sonatrach and Sonelgaz as the twin arms of its foreign policy. Instead of just proposing connections, Algeria delivers ready-to-use power infrastructure directly to its neighbours. Early this month, Algerian Prime Minister Sifi Ghrieb personally laid the first stone for a 40-megawatt power plant in N’Djamena, Chad, where Sonelgaz will handle both construction and local workforce training.

This directly counters Morocco’s infrastructure diplomacy. Lacking oil and gas, Rabat has focused on logistics and maritime access, presenting the construction of the Dakhla Atlantic port in Western Sahara as a strategic ocean gateway for landlocked Sahel nations.

The Sahel countries still face severe economic problems and low living standards. The region also has a very young population, with 65% of people under twenty-five years old. International groups have long warned about the region’s instability. Unrest there directly impacts North Africa before spreading to southern Europe. A peaceful partnership between Algiers and Rabat could help the region grow. However, their ongoing cold war forces each country to work alone. Algeria continues to expand its power grid, while Morocco builds up its regional shipping and transport networks.

Le Point, Maghrebi.org